


Salt of the Earth

by Yotsubadancesintherain5



Series: Fairytale/Supernatural AU [6]
Category: The Little Mermaid - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Mute Protagonist, Sign Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-01-21
Packaged: 2018-09-18 07:30:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9374501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yotsubadancesintherain5/pseuds/Yotsubadancesintherain5
Summary: She was their little one, a child born of the sand and sea.





	

The king and queen had found her on the beach, buried in the sand and her hair the color of sea foam. They had dug her out and covered her cold body with a coat, and she blinked her eyes at them. She tried to rub at her eyes, but was gently discouraged because of the sand coating them.

There was a tiny shell tied around her neck and she held it between two fingers as the king and queen lead her back to the castle. She walked like a newborn foal and she could not make a sound.

The child was given a warm bath and allowed the clothes of her choice. She was a little steadier and shook the hands of the king and queen.

The king had knelt down to her level and asked if she had nowhere to go. The child tilted her head upward for a moment and nodded. The king asked if she would like to stay with them as their daughter.

The child's face beamed with joy.

-

In the months that passed, the king and queen had taught the child to speak with her hands. She was delighted to be able to communicate with them and was often seen making the motions with repetition.

When they asked her where she came from, she signed that she came from the air and the sea. The queen had laughed and hugged the child, calling her an imaginative girl. 

The girl had shook her head and lifted up the shell around her neck. She called it magic, something to help in danger.

The queen had said that she hoped it wouldn't be necessary.

-

The king had brought the child along with him to a voyage across the sea. It was a trip to establish a treaty with another country.

The ship became caught in the storm, and the king and child were swept up into the waves. The child was trapped in the fury of the water, and she crushed the shell between her hands.

Her legs became fused together, and she searched through the water and found the king, sinking beneath the water.

She grabbed him and fought against the storm, half-wild with desperation and when she felt the dryness of the land she fell into unconsciousness.

-

The child awoke with the king holding her, carried to the castle like so many months ago.

When the queen saw them she ran to embrace them, not caring about how this was possible.

The child explained with shaking hands that this was the price of the magic. She was to have this form until the day of her death.  
The king and queen held her closer and said that no matter what she was their daughter.

And so the child stayed.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the prompt: Rewrite a classic fairy tale by telling it backwards. The end is now the beginning.


End file.
